1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention is generally related to marshalling wands, and more particularly to a marshalling wand having a wand portion with a relatively flat profile and a handle portion constructed to illuminate the wand portion.
2. Description of Related Art
Marshalling wands are known in the art. Marshalling wands are used by airport personnel on the tarmac to provide direction for pilots as aircraft taxi from the runways to the gates and from the gates to the runways. Marshalling wands are also used by law enforcement, military, crowd control, and other similar personnel when directing traffic, such as in roadside emergencies and the like, or when directing large groups of people.
A conventional marshalling wand has a grip at one end and a hollow translucent plastic cone at the other end. A light source at the grip end emits light into the interior of the hollow cone to illuminate the cone. In many instances, the cone is a simple orange plastic construction. The typical marshalling wand cone may have a relatively larger diameter at the proximal end near the grip and may have a relatively smaller diameter at the distal end away from the grip.
The typical marshalling wand is relatively bulky in size and often uses a flashlight as the grip. The cone is often attached in a rudimentary manner to the flashlight. The batteries and the bulbs often expire relatively quickly. Also, the typical marshalling wand can be quite heavy so that it can be tiring for a user to hold and utilize one or two marshalling wands over extended periods of time.
Others have tried to address problems with these known marshalling wands. In one example, marshalling wands and other similar devices have been developed that use a luminescent material on the wand portion instead of employing an actively lit wand portion. A luminescent material, when exposed to light for a period of time, will be visible in the dark (i.e., “glow in the dark”). In one example, a marshalling wand was created that utilized a cone portion with a luminescent coating. By day, the wand is visible because the user is also visible. By night, the wand is visible as a result of the luminescent cone on the wand. See, for example, U.S. Publication No. 2004/0179352.
In another example, a traffic wand was created having a handle at one end and a relatively flat paddle shaped wand extending from the handle. One face of the wand included an orange color to be visible by day and the other face of the wand included a luminescent or phosphorescent surface to be visible in low light conditions. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,119. These luminescent solutions have been found to be deficient in providing satisfactory illumination at night. The material is not particularly bright and the effect wears off over time. Further, the paddle solution of the '119 patent is not visible at night from the one side or on the edges of the flat paddle shaped wand portion. Thus, the user must be extremely diligent in properly orienting the device in order for the device to be useful at night.